Do you allow your kids to read in the car?

[Anonymous]

Mine never did, saying it was bad for my eyes. And I know if can could motion sickness (which I usually had lol). Now I have an avid reader who wants to read while while sitting in the car during errands, on the way to practice / school, on road trips for hours in the car.... Is this bad for his eyes? I also think it might be good for him to be more present. What do you think?

[Anonymous]

Of course. I know people think reading in low light is bad for your eyes, but otherwise it's just reading. I think it turns out reading in low light isn't a problem, but our kid has a book light either way.

[Anonymous]

It’s not bad for your eyes to read in the car. However, reading in the car does often make motion sickness more likely.

[Anonymous]

This can't be real, can it? You'd prevent your kid from reading in the car so he can be "more present?" I hope you don't let him look out the windows, there are words everywhere out there.

[Anonymous]

Why on earth would it be worse than reading anywhere else??? It's arguably better, since there's more natural light (unless you're reading at night).

You're not very bright.

Your parent probably wanted to stop you from vomiting in the car.

Also, reread your posts before hitting the submit button. So many typos...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Mine never did, saying it was bad for my eyes. And I know if can could motion sickness (which I usually had lol). Now I have an avid reader who wants to read while while sitting in the car during errands, on the way to practice / school, on road trips for hours in the car.... Is this bad for his eyes? I also think it might be good for him to be more present. What do you think?

Of course. It is not "bad for his eyes"

And if your kid wants to read for god's sake don't be a moron let them read.

[Anonymous]

Mine would never want to, but if they did, absolutely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s not bad for your eyes to read in the car. However, reading in the car does often make motion sickness more likely.

+1

I don't allow this because my kid gets car sick sometimes (and I know that I can't read in the car without getting carsick) but if your kid has no history of carsickness, let 'em!

[Anonymous]

It's not a problem, and you could only be an issue if you get car sick.

My mom never wanted me to read in the car because she thought it was important I just stare out the window bored.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This can't be real, can it? You'd prevent your kid from reading in the car so he can be "more present?" I hope you don't let him look out the windows, there are words everywhere out there.

Yes, it’s real. I just took him to lunch and he was trying to eat a sandwich and read a book in his lap. I asked him to put the book away so we could enjoy lunch and chat. You don’t think being present is an important skill for kids to practice?

[Anonymous]

Yes, my kids read in the car. While I know from personal experience that it can contribute to motion sickness, they didn’t have problems with it.

As for vision, I think it’s only a problem if they have to strain their eyes because it’s too dark to read, so my kids had booklights, and a few times I turned the back interior car light on for them.

As for being present, they didn’t always read, but sometimes (not always) when they did, they were reading aloud from a book that we were enjoying reading together. Either way, it was fine. Everyone needs sone alone time, and I know for myself that if you’re in the middle of a book, it’s almost painful to put it aside and wait to finish the story. So whether we talked together, sang together, read together, or they read alone, did their homework, slept, etc., it was all fine.

[Anonymous]

How can reading in the car be bad for your eyes but reading seated in a chair thats NOT located inside of a car, is not?
The carsickness is a real thing for some people but not for everyone. If he isn't carsick, why on earth wouldn't he be allowed to read in the car?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How can reading in the car be bad for your eyes but reading seated in a chair thats NOT located inside of a car, is not?
The carsickness is a real thing for some people but not for everyone. If he isn't carsick, why on earth wouldn't he be allowed to read in the car?

Because the car is in motion. Sitting in a chair at home isn’t the same as reading in a moving car. Google says this can cause eye strain and fatigue as well as headaches, but it’s temporary.

[Anonymous]

As someone who puked a lot from motion sickness, no I could not read in the car while it was moving. While I sat in a parked car waiting for parents? It was fine to read then.

There's nothing wrong with reading in the car if it doesn't make you sick.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This can't be real, can it? You'd prevent your kid from reading in the car so he can be "more present?" I hope you don't let him look out the windows, there are words everywhere out there.

Yes, it’s real. I just took him to lunch and he was trying to eat a sandwich and read a book in his lap. I asked him to put the book away so we could enjoy lunch and chat. You don’t think being present is an important skill for kids to practice?

Were you eating lunch in the car?